The Personal Cost of Unemployment

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THE PERSONAL COST OF UNEMPLOYMENT Many of the effects of unemployment go beyond the simple lack of income. There is a very personal effect on the individual. Many assume that the unemployed simple enjoy the time they have getting paid for doing no work. For most, this is the not the case. Most unemployed have a need for higher income than an unemployment check will provide and have trouble meeting basic needs. They feel depressed and burdened by a social stigma of being lazy or unmotivated when, for most, this is far from the truth. In many cases there is also a sense of failure for being unable to keep their previous job. These issues should be examined more closely as the personal cost of unemployment. The assumption that the unemployed simply do not want more from life is in most cases a wrong assumption. With 21.4 percent of the long term unemployed being college graduates over the age of 45, you certainly have a hard time seeing them as unmotivated (Moberg). These are professionals with years of experience, with many finding themselves unemployed for the first time in their adult lives. Many unemployed find themselves in a cycle of finding jobs only to be laid off once again as the economy continues an almost snail like recovery. Then, even as the economy does recover, many of the jobs lost never return as technology replaces many human employees. The older unemployed feel especially out of touch with the current job market lacking many technological skills that are more in demand or being physically unable to perform more routine physical labor. The recent high school and college graduates find themselves lacking the work experience to compete in today’s job market. This leaves both groups feeling disadvantaged. There is also a very personal price paid by those who are unemployed, the price of worry, stress and a strain on these
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